Winning is important for every team. It's also not the only thing, and that's a problem.

For sides who fall somewhere below the professional level, other factors can easily take over and define you far more than the quest for victory: Jobs, family, escapism from the daily grind and so on.

These factors are real and unavoidable, but they don't have to command the side. With some simple, almost zen-like, changes to your approach, you can account for everything and still become a more professional-acting club team.

Here are some practical tip for calmly becoming more focused on winning without being ridiculed for "taking it too seriously".

Define the culture without buzz words

Management-speak is a huge turn off for office workers who play cricket for fun. The last thing you want on a weekend is to have to go through another round of buzz word bingo just to have a hit.

I get it.

The thing is - like it or not - every cricket team has a culture, a culture that makes for success or failure on the field as much as technical ability.

If you define it, you are better off.

Of course, you don't need to get all "utilise synergy" on us to make it work. Keep it simple, natural and realistic. Get together as a team be clear about a few things:

• Be clear about what "success" looks like for the team. Do you want to win the league? Are you happy just putting out a side? Different people will have different ideas, so compromise and work out the best goal for everyone.
• Make sure everyone understands their job: on and off the field. Have backup plans for when you have to change (like when Sam drops out to go to a wedding).
• Be clear about what is acceptable for training and match day. Not everyone can have a "no train, no play" culture, but you can still decide what the rule is, and what happens if it's broken.

Review, review, review

Team and individual reviews are crucial to getting better, yet they are often missed in the scramble to get away after the match or training. Fortunately, it's getting easier to review everything quickly, and to go more in depth if you can get the time and attention from a willing volunteer.

I would say the minimum is:

• A personal review after every match and training session: What went well, how do you maintain it, what didn't go well, what needs to change, how can you change it?
• A team review after every session using the "Start, Stop, Continue" method.

Even if you play just to escape the grind of your boring job for an afternoon, you can take the time to do this.

Even if you play 2 social games a year because you have such a full on calendar, you can do this.

As a result of accounting for everyone, it's important not to turn a review into a business meeting. Most of us get plenty of those and they are usually horrible experiences. Make the discussion short, sharp and walk away with clear actions.

If you want to get more advanced, you can also start collecting data beyond what is in the score book. What you collect and analyse will be dependent on the time you can allocate and the goals of your team, but here are some ideas.

Train like a professional (kinda)

Training is a magic time where clear improvements can be made towards your goals. A coach who can guide things is great here, but all players can use the time to maximum effect.

Imagine that the moment you arrive at training you are a professional until you leave.

Maybe it's just an hour but during that hour your focus is solely on becoming better at cricket. You might not have the same amount of time as a pro, but you can certainly set yourself standards that are just as high.

Once you have the right mindset, PitchVision Academy has a huge number of tips on simple ways to improve nets (and drills, and middle practice). Set yourself a goal for training, do what works best, track your performance and adjust as you go.

You will be amazed at the results.

And if you, or one of your team, can't train regularly (and lets face it, weather can prevent training too) then carry on with your life until you can next get to a session. This isn't about laying down the law, it's about having fun.

I'm sure you are agreeing that these changes are not difficult to put into place, but can step up your team's performances.

They allow for the non-pro to have a life away from cricket and understand that some people play as much to escape as they do to win. But we, deep down, also want to do well and win games.

Cricket is a lot more fun for everyone when that happens.